Pop Culture Safari!

Fab Friday: Vintage Beatles pics

Holy hole in a donut! Loads of photos of Hot Toys' astounding 1966 Batman and Robin figures!

Hot Toys, which may actually own a shrink ray, has released gobs of photos of its upcoming 1966 Batman and Robin figures. Jaw-droppingly realistic.

Video find: Miles Davis Quintet live 1967

Details on IDW's collection of Golden Age Superman Sunday comic strips

From the press release:

Continuing to set the gold standard in comics preservation, IDW Publishing's Library of American Comics, in partnership with DC Entertainment, will release the amazing never-before reprinted adventures of Superman that appeared in the Sunday newspapers for more than twenty-five years. The strips will be releases in in chronological order in three sub-sets: the 1940s Golden Age, the 1950s Atomic Age, and the 1960s Silver Age.

The first volume in the Superman: Golden Age Sundays series will collect 170 sequential Sundays, from May 9, 1943 through August 4, 1946, beginning where the Superman Sunday Classic book by DC Comics and Kitchen Sink Press left off. These World War II-era stories feature work by legendary artists such as Wayne Boring and Jack Burnley.

"We're printing the series in an oversized 9.25" x 12" format," says editor Dean Mullaney, "so that readers can fully enjoy these glorious full-color tabloid Sundays."

The stories include the complete "Superman's Service to Servicemen" series, which ran from late Summer of 1943 until a few months after the Second World War ended. In these human interest tales, Superman responds to requests from men and women of the armed services, as well as their family members back home. In supporting troop morale, Superman travels from the Mediterranean theatre to the bleak Aleutian Islands to the steamy South Pacific. He helps a wounded Army Air Corps pilot return home to witness the birth of his twins; solves numerous romantic misunderstandings; checks up on mothers for their worried sons overseas...while simultaneously stopping enemy torpedoes, bombs, and bullets!

In a clever transition to the post-War world, there's a flashback to Superman's origin and Clark Kent's first assignment at the Daily Planet, followed by a thrilling inter-stellar saga in which Superman comes face to face with Queen Arda of the planet Suprania, who threatened to kill Lois Lane unless the Man of Steel agrees to become her King!

These Sunday strips represent an important era in the development of the Man of Steel into an international phenomenon. Each book in the series features an introduction by Mark Waid and covers drawn by Peter Poplaski.

Superman: Golden Age Sundays joins The Library of American Comics and IDW's line of archival DC classic newspaper strips, first started with Superman: Silver Age Dailies, which will continue into 2014, as well as the 1940s Wonder Woman and the 1960s Batman.

BBC Radio this week: Eddie Cochran; Atlantic Records; Hendrix; Keith Moon; Dr. Morelle, more!

Click the links to hear the following programs.

Eddie Cochran: Something Else A tribute to the pioneering rocker.

A Case for Dr. Morelle Classic detective series with Harley Street psychiatrist Dr Morelle, who uses psychology, criminology and dogged persistence to solve crimes.

Desert Island Disks Revisited Illustrator Quentin Blake discusses his favorite music.

Atlantic Soul A documentary on influential rhythm and blues label.

Hendrix at the Beeb A look at Jimi Hendrix's recordings for BBC radio.

I'm Keith Moon, What's Your Excuse? A documentary about the late drummer for the Who.

The Goon Show. Classic material from one of the all-time radio comedy greats.

The Man in Black. A creepy raconteur, played by Mark Gatiss, introduces spooky tales.

Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone. Strange and unusual sounds in music both old and new.